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United Progressive Alliance

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United Progressive Alliance
AbbreviationUPA
ChairpersonSonia Gandhi
Lok Sabha leaderAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Rajya Sabha leaderMallikarjun Kharge (Leader of the Opposition)
FounderSonia Gandhi
Founded2004
IdeologyBig tent
Political positionCentre-left to left-wing
ECI StatusRecognised
Alliance15 parties
Seats in Lok Sabha
90 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
54 / 245
Number of states and union territories in government
6 / 31

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a big tent centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India formed after the 2004 general election.[1] The largest member party of the UPA is the Indian National Congress (INC), whose president Sonia Gandhi is chairperson of the UPA. It formed a government with support from some other left-aligned parties in 2004 after no single party could get the majority on its own.

History

2004–2008: Formation and rise

The UPA was formed soon after the 2004 general elections when it had become clear that no party had won an absolute majority. The hitherto ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won 181 seats[2] in the 543-member 14th Lok Sabha, as opposed to the UPA's tally of 218 seats.

The Left Front with 59 MPs (excluding the speaker of the Lok Sabha), the Samajwadi Party with 39 MPs and the Bahujan Samaj Party with 19 MPs were other significant blocks that opted to support UPA at various phases of its rule.[3][4] The UPA did not enjoy a simple majority on its own in the parliament, rather it has relied on the external support to ensure that it enjoys the confidence of the Indian parliament similar to the formula adopted by the previous minority governments of the United Front, the NDA, the Congress government of P. V. Narasimha Rao, and earlier governments of V. P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar.

An informal alliance had existed prior to the elections as several of the current constituent parties had developed seat-sharing agreements in many states. However, it was only after the election that the results of negotiations between parties were announced. The UPA government's policies were initially guided by a common minimum programme that the alliance hammered out with fruitful consultations with Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the 59-member Left Front.[5] Hence, government policies were generally perceived as centre-left, reflecting the centrist policies of the INC.

During the tenure of Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, the constituents of the UPA were, by mutual consent, supporting his government.[6]

On 22 July 2008, the UPA narrowly survived a vote of confidence in the parliament brought on by the Left Front withdrawing their support in protest at the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement.[7] The Congress party and its leaders along with then SP leader Amar Singh were accused for cash for vote scam as part of the cash-for-votes scandal, in which they were accused for buying votes in Lok Sabha to save the government.[8][9][10] During UPA I the economy saw steady economic growth and there was a drastic reduction in poverty.

2009–2014: Struggles

In the Indian General Election in 2009, the UPA won 262 seats, of which the INC accounted for 206. During the governance of UPA II, the alliance was broiled in number of scams. This ranged from 2G spectrum to CoalGate Scam. These scams impacted UPA image nationwide and the approval rating for the govt continued to fall. In addition many member from YSRCP. This started a domino effect with member leaving to form their own parties or parties like DMK leaving the alliance all-together. During this time UPA struggled with state election and leadership stability. Then in the run-up to the 2014 Indian election UPA appointed Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate. The alliance had a humiliating defeat as it failed to only 60 seats a huge reduction from 262. In addition UPA only managed to win 1 state election and got wiped out from AP to 0 where they previously had 150+ MLA.

2015–2019: Slump, rise back, and repeat

The UPA horror after the 2014 Indian general election continued. From 2014 to 2017, they only won 3 state election during this period and it mostly included states they had a high amount of presence in. This was blamed to the alliance failed leadership and weakness of the alliance compared to the NDA. In addition the part lost power in states in which they won state election like Bihar. And in 2017 alliance lost the 2017 Indian presidential election. However all changed in 2018. UPA had a phenomenal comeback in the state election as the party had won important and crucial state election like Karnataka, Rajasthan and others. It was able to have more parties join the alliance and it was stronger than ever.

However that changed it 2019 Indian general election when UPA only managed to win 91 seats in the general election and failed to secure the opposition post too. This was another set back to the alliance as they hoped to continue their 2018 form. In addition the alliance lost another state to BJP with the party winning by-polls and pushing the UPA into minority and forming the govt. But towards to the end 2019 it changed as the alliance was able to make a strong comeback. The alliance made huge gains in Haryana won in Jharkhand and formed a sub alliance called Maha Vikas Aghadi to form the government in Maharashtra.

2020–present: Continuation

Since 2020, it was able to make more parties join the alliance and it had strengthened the alliance. The alliance lost the crucial Bihar election which everyone expected it to win. In addition UPA only won 1 out of the 5 state election in 2021. However the alliance was able to make significant gain in number of MLA.

Membership

Main article: List of United Progressive Alliance members
Party MPs in Lok Sabha MPs in Rajya Sabha MLA in state legislature Base state
1 Indian National Congress 52 34 766 National Party
2 Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 24 5 139 Tamil Nadu
3 Nationalist Congress Party 5 4 59 National Party
4 Rashtriya Janata Dal 0 4 76 Bihar
5 Indian Union Muslim League 3 1 15 Kerala
6 Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 3 0 0 Jammu and Kashmir
7 Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 1 0 30 Jharkhand
8 Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 0 1 0 Tamil Nadu
9 Revolutionary Socialist Party 1 0 0 Kerala
10 Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi 1 0 4 Tamil Nadu
11 Goa Forward Party 0 0 3 Goa
12 Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi 0 0 3 Maharashtra
13 Prahar Janshakti Party 0 0 2 Maharashtra
14 Swabhimani Paksha 0 0 1 Maharashtra
15 Peasants and Workers Party of India 0 0 1 Maharashtra
16 Independents 0 1 26 None
Total 91 54 1269 India

Governments

  BJP (12)
  Coalition with BJP (6)
  INC (3)
  Coalition with INC (3)
  Other Parties (AAP, AITC, BJD, TRS, YSRCP, CPI(M))
  President's Rule (2)
  Without Legislature (5)

As of May 2021, the UPA has chief ministers in six states.

List of state governments

S.No State/UT Government Chief minister Party/alliance partner Seats in assembly Last election
Name Party Seats Since 1 2 3 Others IND
1 Punjab 16 March 2017 Amarinder Singh INC 80 16 March 2017 None 80/117 4 February 2017
2 Chhattisgarh 17 December 2018 Bhupesh Baghel INC 70 17 December 2018 None 70/90 11 December 2018
3 Rajasthan 17 December 2018 Ashok Gehlot INC 107 17 December 2018 RLD (1) None 12 120/200 11 December 2018
4 Maharashtra 28 November 2019 Uddhav Thackeray SS 57 28 November 2019 NCP (53) INC (43) BVA (3) SP (2), PJP (2), SWP (1), PWPI (1) 8 170/288 21 October 2019
5 Jharkhand 28 December 2019 Hemant Soren JMM 30 28 December 2019 INC (18) RJD (1) NCP (1) CPI(M-L) (1) None 51/81 23 December 2019
6 Tamil Nadu 7 May 2021 M.K Stalin DMK 133 7 May 2021 INC (18) VCK (4) CPI (2) CPI (M) (2) None 159/234 6 April 2021

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, UPA could not regain its power in those two states anymore.

Strength in legislative assemblies

State/UT MLA seats INC UPA Overall seats Chief minister party Ref(s)
Andhra Pradesh 175 0 None
0 / 175
 YSRCP [11]
Arunachal Pradesh 60 4 None
4 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [12]
Assam 126 27 CPI(M) (1)
28 / 126
 BJP (NDA) [13]
Bihar 243 19 RJD (75)
110 / 243
 JD(U) (NDA) [14]
CPI(M-L) (12)
CPI(M) (2)
CPI (2)
Chhattisgarh 90 70 None
70 / 90
 INC [15]
Goa 40 5 GFP (3)
11 / 40
 BJP (NDA) [16]
NCP (1)
IND (2)
Gujarat 182 65 IND (1)
66 / 182
 BJP (NDA) [17]
Haryana 90 31 None
31 / 90
 BJP (NDA) [18]
Himachal Pradesh 68 19 None
19 / 68
 BJP (NDA) [19]
Jharkhand 81 18 JMM (30)
51 / 81
 JMM [20]
RJD (1)
NCP (1)
CPI(M-L) (1)
Karnataka 224 68 None
68 / 224
 BJP (NDA) [21]
Kerala 140 21 IUML (15)
41 / 140
 CPI(M) (LDF) [22]
KC (2)
KC(J) (1)
RMPI (1)
IND (1)
Madhya Pradesh 230 95 None
95 / 230
 BJP (NDA) [23]
Maharashtra 288 43 SHS (57)
170 / 288
 Shiv Sena [24]
NCP (53)
BVA (3)
SP (2)
PJP (2)
SWP (1)
PWPI (1)
IND (8)
Manipur 60 16 None
16 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [25]
Meghalaya 60 17 None
17 / 60
 NPP (NDA) [26]
Mizoram 40 5 None
5 / 40
 MNF (NDA) [27]
Nagaland 60 0 None
0 / 60
 NDPP (NDA) [28]
Odisha 147 9 CPI(M) (1)
10 / 147
 BJD [29]
Punjab 117 80 None
80 / 117
 INC [30]
Rajasthan 200 107 RLD (1)
120 / 200
 INC [31]
IND (12)
Sikkim 32 0 None
0 / 32
 SKM (NDA) [32]
Tamil Nadu 234 18 DMK (133)
159 / 234
 DMK [33]
VCK (4)
CPI (2)
CPI(M) (2)
Telangana 119 6 None
6 / 119
 TRS [34]
Tripura 60 0 None
0 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [35]
Uttar Pradesh 403 7 None
7 / 403
 BJP (NDA) [36]
Uttarakhand 70 10 IND (2)
12 / 70
 BJP (NDA) [37]
West Bengal 294 0 None
0 / 294
 AITC [38]
Delhi 70 0 None
0 / 70
 AAP [39]
Jammu and Kashmir 90 NA [40]
Puducherry 33 2 DMK (6)
8 / 33
 AINRC (NDA) [41]
Total 4126 761 458
1,219 / 4,036
 UPA (6) 31

Sub-Alliance

UPA runs a few Sub-Alliance in an effort to connect to more parties. The goal of the sub-alliance is to get parties which do not want to be in the UPA national level but only in state level :-

Past members

Party State Date Reason for withdrawal
Telangana Rashtra Samithi Telangana 2006 Differences over proposed statehood for Telangana
Bahujan Samaj Party National Party 2008 Congress opposed the UP government where the BSP was the ruling party
Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party Jammu and Kashmir 2009 Congress decided to support National Conference Government in Jammu and Kashmir
Pattali Makkal Katchi Tamil Nadu 2009 PMK declared that it would join the AIADMK led front
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Telangana 2012 Accused Congress led State Government of Communalism
All India Trinamool Congress National Party 2012 TMC's demands on rollbacks and reforms not met, including the governments decision to allow FDI in retail
Socialist Janata (Democratic) Kerala 2014 It merged with Janata Dal (United) on 29 December 2014.
Rashtriya Lok Dal Uttar Pradesh 2014 Decided to leave after 2014 election performance.
Janata Dal (Secular) Karnataka 2019 After JD(S)-INC alliance govt fell in Karnataka, two parties decided to end alliance.
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with BSP+ on 29 September 2020.
Vikassheel Insaan Party Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with NDA
Hindustani Awam Morcha Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with NDA
Kerala Congress (M) Kerala 2020 Decided to join LDF
Bodoland People's Front Assam 2021 Withdrew due to performance in 2021 Assam election.
All India United Democratic Front Assam 2021 Party was expelled from the alliance.


List of prime ministers

Further information: List of prime ministers of India
No. Prime ministers Portrait Term in office Lok Sabha Government Cabinet Constituency
Start End Tenure
1 Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in March 2014.jpg 22 May 2004 22 May 2009 10 years, 4 days 14th UPA I Manmohan Singh I Rajya Sabha MP From Assam
22 May 2009 26 May 2014 15th UPA II Manmohan Singh II

List of chief ministers

Main article: List of chief ministers from the Indian National Congress
Incumbent chief ministers from the United Progressive Alliance
S.No State Name Portrait Cabinet
1. Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel Bhupesh Baghel, June 2018.jpg Baghel I
2. Jharkhand Hemant Soren Hemant Soren.jpg Soren II
3. Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Uddhav Thackeray calling on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on February 21, 2020 (Uddhav Thackeray) (cropped).jpg Thackeray I
4. Punjab Amarinder Singh Amarinder Singh.jpg Amarinder II
5. Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot Ashok Gehlot 2012.jpg Gehlot III
6. Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi consoles and shares few words with son M.K. Stalin of Kalaignar Karunanidhi, in Chennai on August 08, 2018 1 (cropped).JPG Stalin I

List of deputy chief ministers

Deputy Chief Minister from the United Progressive Alliance
S.No State Name Portrait Cabinet
1. Maharashtra Ajit Pawar Ajit Pawar.jpg Thackeray I

List of party candidates by election

Timeline

2014

2015

  • UPA lost elections in Delhi
  • UPA won elections in Bihar

2016

2017

2018

2019

  • UPA lost in the 2019 Indian general election to NDA
  • UPA lost state elections in AP, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Haryana
  • UPA won in state election in Jharkhand, Maharashtra
  • In 2019 UPA lost power in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka after the by-polls gave majority to opposition and pushed UPA to minority.
  • Janata Dal (Secular) left the alliance after the fall of Karnataka govt.
  • AIUDF joined UPA after UPA invited as it was against the implementation of CAA-NRC, and JKNC joined UPA back at national level after a break-up in 2014.

2020

  • UPA lost state election in Delhi, Bihar
  • The KC(M) was expelled by INC from the alliance due to the factions forming in the party.

2021

  • 3 MLA have resigned from UPA in Puducherry causing the government to go from majority to minority, and during the no trust confidence UPA fail to prove majority causing the govt to fall.
  • BPF (left NDA) and joined the alliance ahead of the 2021 Assam election.
  • UPA lost state election in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal
  • UPA won state election in Tamil Nadu
  • GFP or Goa Forward Party had joined UPA
  • UPA cut all ties with ISF (Indian Secular Front) after defeat in West Bengal elections.
  • Bodoland People's Front had left the alliance due to poor performance in the 2021 Assam elections.
  • AIUDF was expelled from UPA.

Controversies

The winter session of parliament in October 2008 came under intense criticism from the Left parties and the BJP to demand a full-fledged winter session instead of what was seen as the UPA to having "scuttled the voice of Parliament" by bringing down the sittings to a record low of 30 days in the year. The tensions between the UPA and the opposition parties became evident at an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee when the leader of opposition, LK Advani questioned the status, timing and schedule of the current session of parliament.[42]

Karunanidhi had said he felt "let down" by the "lukewarm" response of the Centre and had demanded amendments in the resolution on Sri Lanka.[citation needed]

One of the amendments was to "declare that genocide and war crimes had been committed and inflicted on the Eelam Tamils by the Sri Lankan Army and the administrators".

The second one was "establishment of a credible and independent international commission of investigation in a time-bound manner into the allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law and crime of genocide against the Tamils". Karunanidhi said Parliament should adopt the resolution incorporating these two amendments.[43]

The UPA has also been criticised for its alleged involvement in a number of scams such as the Commonwealth Games Scam of 2010, the 2G spectrum case, and the Coalgate scam. Apart from the above-mentioned scams, the UPA has been under intense fire for the alleged doles handed out to the son-in-law of the Gandhi family, Robert Vadra, by different state governments run by the UPA.[44]

See also

  • Coalition government
  • National Advisory Council
  • National Democratic Alliance
  • Third Front (India)

References

  1. ^ "United Progressive Alliance, UPA, UPA Performance General Election 2009, UPA Tally, UPA in Lok Sabha Elections 2009, India Elections 2009, General Elections, Election Manifesto, India Election News, India Elections Results, Indian Election Schedule, 15th Lok Sabha Elections, General Elections 2009, State Assembly Elections, State Assembly Elections Schedule, State Assembly Election Results". electionaffairs.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
  2. ^ Small parties, independents in great demand Archived 28 May 2009 at WebCite.
  3. ^ Originally the SP had 39 MPs Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine. 6 MPs defied party whip and have been expelled from the party.
  4. ^ Lok Sabha members Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Congress pins hopes on Jyoti Basu". The Times of India.[dead link]
  6. ^ Madhu Koda to be next Jharkhand CM Archived 3 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  7. ^ "Indian government survives vote". BBC News. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Cash-for-votes scam: The deadly secrets of sting Singh : Cover Story - India Today". intoday.in. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Cash For Vote Scam - Amar Singh - Supreme Court - Sudheendra Kulkarni - Swamajwadi Party - BJP". oneindia.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Cash-for-vote scam 2008: Court orders further probe". indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  11. ^ Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  12. ^ Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  13. ^ Assam Legislative Assembly
  14. ^ Bihar Legislative Assembly
  15. ^ Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
  16. ^ Goa Legislative Assembly
  17. ^ Gujarat Legislative Assembly
  18. ^ Haryana Legislative Assembly
  19. ^ Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  20. ^ Jharkhand Legislative Assembly
  21. ^ Karnataka Legislative Assembly
  22. ^ Kerala Legislature
  23. ^ Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  24. ^ Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
  25. ^ Manipur Legislative Assembly
  26. ^ Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
  27. ^ Mizoram Legislative Assembly
  28. ^ Nagaland Legislative Assembly
  29. ^ Odisha Legislative Assembly
  30. ^ Punjab Legislative Assembly
  31. ^ Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
  32. ^ Sikkim Legislative Assembly
  33. ^ Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
  34. ^ Telangana Legislative Assembly
  35. ^ Tripura Legislative Assembly
  36. ^ Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  37. ^ Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
  38. ^ West Bengal Legislative Assembly
  39. ^ Delhi Legislative Assembly
  40. ^ Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
  41. ^ Puducherry Legislative Assembly
  42. ^ Political Bureau. "Left joins BJP to sing chorus against UPA". The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  43. ^ "DMK pulls out of UPA govt over Sri Lanka Tamils issue – The Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  44. ^ "CAG raps Haryana govt. for showing undue favours to Robert vadra". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2015.

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